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Topic: Auto Union DKW Owners (Read 54469 times)

For the last 65 years the single most talked about Auto Union/DKW component has most certainly been its robust little crankshaft. At 22 kg in weight, its no laughing matter - its short, stubby - and expensive to fix.

Back in 1962/3 it also became the DKW's Kryptonite. Its inability to live without constant lubrication left it at the mercy of the ham-handed refueller or a malfunctioning Lubrimat. The winter of 1962 was cold - cranks failed en-masse. Auto Union honoured warranties - but it took months. Auto Union was financially in dire straits.

Given sufficient lubrication (oil:fuel = 1:40) - it was long-lived -it would do up to 110 000 miles easily and reliably. The first sign of problems would usually come in the form of an ominous rumble from the bowels of the motor. This would progress to a constant "Shhhhhh" sound - eventually the crank would have to be replaced.

After 1964, supplies of good cranks and then later new bearings and conrods slowly just about dried up. Many alternative solutions for main bearings were dreamt up...spacers, rings, silicone goop, you name it. None of it lasted the distance. In the internetless world of the 1970's and '80's DKW's died one after another - few people could access spare parts once the dealerships dried up. The tell-tale sign always being the nose-high attitude of just about every abandoned Deek - the engine had been removed from its rightful place and dumped in the boot. You still often find them like that.

Today, new bearings and conrods can be bought from Brazil - expensive, but now they can be had.

I am going try, in the next few months to rescue a few cranks by importing some bearing and con-rod kits into NZ and rebuilding a few cranks myself. Watch this space...

(Photographs of the 1959 Coupe des Alpes are not many - car no 89, a 1958 model Auto Union 1000, Hermann Kühne and Hans Wencher came in an impressive 2nd overall - the winning Renault Dauphine of Clarou-Rambaud is just to the left of the photograph)

Much was made at the time of the British cars like the Austin Healeys - it is seldomly mentioned today, that they were soundly thrashed by the likes of the humble Renault Dauphine and the Auto Union 1000 on this rally!

Here is a period account written by JAH Gott. The article is voluminous with a grudging single line acknowledgment to the Auto Union DKW! Memories of the recent war were still fresh.

"Hertfordshire Constabulary

In his quarterly feature, the Motoring Correspondent of THE POLICEJOURNAL describes the 1959 Alpine Rally and road-tests a RenaultDauphine-the winning carThe 1959 Alpine Rally

THE TWO INTERNATIONAL RALLIES best known in this country arethe "Monte" and the "Alpine," whose official title is the "Coupedes Alpes," so called after that most coveted trophy, awardedonly for an unpenalised run. Each is very different in conception,the one being largely a navigators' event and the other primarilya drivers' event. The "Monte" is decided by regularity sections,governed by secret checks, and, in addition, a crew can have a"lucky dip" amongst the choice of starting-places, whilst the "Alpine"has the same course for all cars, although the set average speedsvary according to the size of the car and its type, these speeds beingso calculated that only the best crews and the fastest cars can hold'them. As the course is published some time beforehand, the manufacturersnormally send a car over the route, and the "works" teamsusually have more than a shrewd idea of the difficulties involved.This year we in the B.M.C. team had no illusions about the 2,500mile route which started at Marseilles and finished at Cannes aftertraversing some of the most difficult mountain passes in France,Austria and Italy. Our reconnaissance crew had reported that thehandicap favoured a small car, more particularly a small saloon,and that, driving flat-out, they had been eight minutes late over a"key" section in Austria.As a result, we had put our European Lady Champions, PatMoss / Ann Wisdom, into an Austin A.40, with instructions to tryfor a Saloon Category win, a Coupe des Alpes and, of course, aLadies' Class win, whilst the "mere males," myself and ChrisTooley, Jack Sears/Peter Gamier and Bill Shepherd/John Williamson,were on Austin Healey 1()(}-6s, with instructions to try for theTeam Prize, the Sports Category, and our class.The team travelled out by the French Train Ferry, which is adelightfully easy way of getting across France. Embarking atBoulogne at 7 p.m., one wakes up about 12 hours later at Lyonshaving done almost three-quarters of the distance to the Coted'Azur. With no hotel or petrol bills to meet, this is not much moreexpensive than driving down and certainly more pleasant.On arrival at Marseilles, the cars were carefully checked overwhilst the crews checked over the opposition equally carefully.The Sports Category contained Alfa Romeos, Aston Martin,Mercedes, D.B.s. Porsches and Triumphs, all driven by experts, butthe British "works" teams, more particularly the Fords and Sunbeams,had concentrated upon the Saloon Class.Chief Superintendent Gatt drove this Austin Healey 100-6 ill the 1959Alpine Rally, in which he finished 5th in the Grand Touring (Sports)Category and 2nd in his class. His article in this issue describes his run.The class opposition to our three Healeys consisted of an AstonMartin, two Mercedes 300SLs and two Triumphs. The AstonMartin was driven by Count Charles de Salis, winner of his classin the "Monte" and "Alpine"; the Triumphs were driven by AnnieSoisbault, the Lady Champion of France, and an old friend andformer team-mate, Bill Bennett, whilst the Mercedes were handledby Walter Schock, European Rally Champion in 1956, and a charmingAmerican couple, Mr. and Mrs. Mills. This was their first InternationalRally and they were under the unfortunate misapprehensionthat the "Alpine" was a regularity rally rather than a flat-outrace against the watch.At 1.30 p.m., 24th June, the Mills led off on the first "leg" of therally, which was due to finish at Cortina d'Ampezzo in the Dolomitessome 800 miles and 28 hours later. Running as No.6, Chris and Ihad our two team-mates, the other Mercedes and Bill Bennett, infront of us.Right from the start the route proved difficult. Down by the seait was blazing hot, so hot that the metal of the cars burnt one'shands; up in the mountains, it was cold and slippery, with suddenshowers of rain. The first real test was a timed climb on the7,383 foot Col d'Allos. We managed our time, being fastest of theHealeys, but the Schock Mercedes was faster. On the Col we passedthe American Mercedes, which was most courteously pulled overto let us through, and not long after the Americans retired, althoughthey followed the rally round to see how things went. On the climbto the Italian border at Mt. Genevre, we ran through a violentthunderstorm, and at 6,500 feet we seemed unpleasantly close tosome of the vicious lightning flashes. This storm followed us allacross Italy, so that when we arrived at Monza Autodrome it wasstill raining very hard, which made the test on the track veryfrightening (to me at any rate) and rather dangerous.For this test we had to do three timed laps, of which the fastesthad to be at around an average of 85 m.p.h. to avoid penalty; thismeant that our Healeys were doing around 120 m.p.h. down thestraights which, in the conditions, was most unpleasant. My firsttwo laps were outside the required time by about a second, but, onthe final lap, screwing up all my courage, I managed to get underthe time by two seconds, much to the relief of Chris and myself.When the spray had subsided, it worked out that only the SchockMercedes and the Healeys of Sears and myself were unpenalised inthe class and so still had the chance of a Coupe des Alpes. On therun to Cortina, Jack went out on the Passo di Vivione where thenotorious gullies caused the fan to carve through his radiator. So,on arrival at the Olympic Stadium, the Healeys had no chance ofthe team prize and, on paper, the class lay between the Mercedesand us.However, in motor sport as in pools forecasting, the "paperform" doesn't mean very much, for the next day's run throughAustria drastically changed our fortunes. Pulling up at the end ofa very hectic stage, the car was promptly enveloped in a cloud ofsteam, but we had no time to do anything except fill it up withwater and tear off to the next timed climb. Here we were held upfor 15 minutes whilst the police cleared the roads, which gave usthe chance to find out that the boiling was due to the radiator taphaving been knocked out of position by a boulder, but not thechance to repair it as we were forbidden to work on the car whilstwaiting to start the climb. We therefore had to stop on the passand refill with water. As it was essential not to hold up cars behind,we had to go rather a long way before finding a suitable place topull off, by which time the temperature needle had not only gone"off the clock," but twice round it! For the next three hours, untilwe found a garage with proper welding equipment, the poor Healeytook an unmerciful beating, being driven until it boiled (usuallywithin 50 miles), being filled with ice-cold water and then againbeing driven flat-out to catch up the minutes so lost. It says a lotfor the stamina of the engine that it never missed a beat during thisshocking maltreatment. Eventually we did find a mechanic, whobrazed a plate across the tap-hole and the leak, so that we were atleast capable of finishing even if the loss of time in repairs haddropped us from first to last in the class.However, when we arrived at Merano, we found that AnnieSoisbault had taken over our class lead and that the Aston Martinhad retired with engine trouble and the Mercedes with a split tank.To compensate, Pat Moss and Ann Wisdom were holding fourthplace in their A.40, and were the only crew to hold the flyingRenault Dauphines which had led from the first.The third stage of 400 miles across Italy to St. Gervais in FrenchSavoy was a long tiring drag, not made any less tiring for us by thefact that we had to start at 4 a.m., which meant getting up at2.30 a.m. and going without breakfast, as our "Palace" type hotelflatly refused to serve it at that hour. Amongst many other wellknownpasses, the day's run included the most spectacular climbin Europe, the 9,000 foot Stelvio, with its 48 hairpins, where therewas thick snow at the summit.The latter part of the stage was run in a violent rainstorm, whichflooded roads and made diversions necessary; for these no extratime was allowed, so some hectic driving and accurate navigatingwere called for.With the last and hardest stage of 805 miles, in 28 hours over27 passes, starting at 6 p.m. on the following day, it was a realrelief to have a proper meal and a good night's sleep.In the afternoon we could size up the position. Annie Soisbaulthad retired, which left only three in our class, now led by BillBennett's Triumph, followed by our Healeys. Bill had a lead of226 October-December, 19591 minute over the Shepherd / Williamson car and 7! minutes overus, but we knew that the Triumph was in trouble with its exhaust,which would have to be repaired if it hoped to finish.On the debit side, the Moss/Wisdom A.40 had retired after amagnificent run, with gearbox derangements.As soon as we left the "pare Ierme," we spotted the Triumphstationary amidst a swarm of mechanics. Bennett had wisely decidedto make his repair when the engine was still cold and where hecould organise mechanics to assist; morever, we found that by harddriving we could make up some four minutes on the stage. However,by the time that we left the control, the Triumph had notpulled in, so that meant the Shepherd/Williamson Healey took overclass lead. For us the burning question was whether the repairwould take long enough to give us second place. When Bill pulledin, grinning, at the next control, we found that we were still third,4! minutes behind him.Nevertheless, a night which included the 8,000 foot Galibier, the7,000 foot AlIos and Cayolle and the 6,000 foot Glandon, Col deFer and Vars, to say nothing of a host of "mere" 4,000 foot passes,could rapidly alter things. It did-but not to the advantage of theHealeys!On the rough Col d'Ornon, well off the beaten track, Chris and Ispotted the ominous splashes in the dust which betoken a car indire trouble; then suddenly round a hairpin the car itself, the Healeyclass leader, out with a cracked sump and an engine seized throughlack of oil.Now, of the eight cars which started, only Bennett's Triumph andour Healey remained. Through the heat of Provence and the cloudsof sticky white dust, over arid Mont Ventoux, we chased theTriumph, but Bill was driving with his head and though we cut hislead, he never made the mistake which would allow us to pass him.How easy this was to do was proved by a Triumph crew in theclass below us. On Mont Ventroux the driver slammed into somestraw bales, breaking his jaw and wrecking his car. Two more carsbroke down within sight of the finish, to the chagrin of their crewswho had nursed them so far. But the Healey and the Triumph ranon tirelessly. Now we were on the home stretch, and the deep blueof the Mediterranean could be glimpsed from the pass summits.For showmanship (and because our Healey was unmarked), westopped to wash and polish it, so that it looked as though it hadjust come out of a showroom-in marked contrast to some othercars held together with string and wire.Then, suddenly, the lights of Cannes and the finish, to an accompanimentof flash-bulbs, champagne, speeches and congratulationsin three languages.It had been a bitter struggle, in which the lead in our class hadOctober-December, 1959 227changed no less than five times. Only seven out of 23 sports carshad finished, of which the little French D.B. alone could claim aCoupe des Alpes; for the others the average had been set too highand many had blown up or crashed in trying to hold it.The saloons had been less hardly handicapped, and had donemagnificently, the crews claiming eight Coupes des Alpes. Of theseone had gone to a French Renault Dauphine, decisively winnerof the Rally, another to a German DKW, and the others to Britishcars and crews, three to Fords (which also won all possible teamprizes), the others to Sunbeams.All in all, a genuine international share-out of the spoils"

This is the 1958 Auto Union 1000 Coupe de luxe - a car like this came second in the 1959 Coupe des Alpes Rally (Alpine Rally) - an almost forgotten achievement

" Even decades after her death, Romy Schneider is still a captivating figure. Her aura, her myth still blaze on as if she never died. She has gone down in film history as a German-French world star, and the Sissi trilogy is not the only reason behind her fame. In France she was transformed from a shy, naïve teenager to the emancipated femme fatale, finding recognition here as a character actress. Her international success and turbulent life full of fateful blows elevated Romy Schneider to the pantheon of German-speaking film stars such as Marlene Dietrich and Hildegard Knef, who also became international sensations. Both in her professional and private life she pushed herself to the limit. Her legend was sealed when she died at the young age of 43. May 29, 2012 marked the 30th anniversary of the death of Romy Schneider.Born in 1938 in Vienna as the daughter of the actor couple Magda Schneider and Wolf Albach-Retty, little Romy, whose name was Rosemarie Magdalena Albach, grew up with her grandparents in Bavaria. Later she attended a boarding school, and her parents divorced. Early in life she decided she also wanted to become an actress. And early on she received her first role: In the film Wenn der weiße Flieder wieder blüht (When the White Lilacs Bloom Again) the 15-year-old debuted at the side of her mother in 1953. The movie was a big success. In 1955 the shooting began for the historical film Sissi, which tells the story of the early years of the legendary Austrian empress Elisabeth. By this time Romy had starred in five movies, playing leading roles in two of them. She was already a star, but Sissi was to be the role of her life – a blessing and a curse at the same time.

Although the first of the three Sissi movies brought international fame to Romy Schneider and tremendously boosted her popularity in the German-speaking countries of Europe, she was reluctant to accept the leading role in the sequels. In the end, she acquiesced, but gained acting experience in other movies in the meantime. A fourth Sissi movie she successfully refused. She wanted to get away from the image of the darling teenager and escape the paternalism of her stepfather who acted as her manager. At the end of the 1950s she starred in the movie Christine together with the French actor Alain Delon. They were a couple not only on the screen but also became one in private. Romy turned her back on the German film industry and moved to Paris. The German public held this against her, and the critics berated her, refusing to accept the change in Romy Schneider. In a wild marriage with a Frenchman? Playing annoyingly brazen roles? None of this fit the Sissi image. In France, on the other hand, the journalists adored her. She worked successfully with Luchino Visconti, Orson Wells and Claude Sautet. In Los Angeles she starred in a movie with Jack Lemmon. While she found the professional recognition she had always wanted, her relationship with Alain Delon fell apart. Romy Schneider was devastated. She tried to take her life.In the 1960s Romy met the director and actor Harry Meyen. They became a couple, and Romy moved to Berlin. Their son David Christopher was born. In 1968 they starred in the movie Der Swimmingpool together with her ex-fiance Alain Delon. The tabloids rejoiced and hoped for a rekindling of former feelings, as the movie with the breathtakingly beautiful Romy Schneider was suffused with eroticism. But a renewed romance failed to materialize. The movie was nonetheless a big hit, both with the critics and the box office.romy-995771f64_lrIn the 1970s Romy shot films mostly in France – one film after another. She could choose between many offers and continued to play demanding roles: a German Jew on the run (The Train, 1973), a neglected wife who has an affair (Love at the Top, 1974), a rape victim (The Old Gun, 1975). However, she separated from Harry Meyen. A few years later he hanged himself, for which Romy blamed herself. In the early 1980s her marriage with her former private secretary Daniel Biasini also failed, and she started having problems with alcohol and substance abuse. She was quoted as saying: “I am an unhappy 42-year-old woman.” A few months after this remark fate dealt her another huge blow when her son was killed in an accident in the summer of 1981. He was 14 years old. Despite this loss Romy Schneider started shooting another film. In The Passerby of Sans-Souci she showed her brilliance as an actress one last time. Romy died shortly after the completion of the shooting. She survived her son by one year.The film world remembers Romy Schneider as a great actress. Around 25 million people worldwide have viewed the Sissi trilogy alone, which commercially ranks among the most successful German-language films of all time. This legacy, however, was a heavy burden for Romy, one she carried since the beginning of her career. She also had private problems and was dealt some heavy blows by fate. She was never really happy; her life was never fulfilled, stable or even consistent. One consistency, however, has emerged 30 years after her death: The myth of Romy Schneider shows no sign of waning."

The DKW 3=6 family - the first production car to use Polyurethane suspension components?

Some time ago, I re-read an article published in New Zealand Classic Driver magazine in 2011, about the Auto Union 1000S, that contained the line - " You could never say that this was a landmark car in any way".

Well! I protest! I think it's very important to understand the design lineage of these cars properly, in order to put them into perspective properly in the era that they were designed in - the 1000S should be seen as a member of its family, not on its own, in my opinion. We need to draw the line all the way back to 1939 and consider what this car was at that time - and again, in my humble opinion the DKW F9 was remarkable for its day. Yes. I've said it. It was a landmark car in many ways. Many people forget or do not know, for example, that Duroplast was first used in an automotive application by Auto Union in 1938, and not, as commonly thought, devised in post war communist Eastern Europe (Wikipedia, I am looking you!)! Photographs of Auto Union's pre-war Duroplast body panels may be seen here on Paul Markham's excellent blog: http://heinkelscooter.blogspot.co.nz/2012/12/1939-dkw-f9-prototype.html

Postwar, the F9's offspring (as it were), the F89 and later F91, 93,94,95, 1000 etc.. were less remarkable in some ways (the body was steel for example). However they did contain something new and very revolutionary, which, although not headline news at the time, changed the world in few years. This thing was called Vulkollan. Vulkollan was/is a polyurethane product - known today as "The King of Urethanes".

Polyurethane was invented in 1937 by Otto Bayer (unrelated to the Bayers of Bayer AG)- or more correctly, Otto Bayer was head of the research group that, in 1937, discovered the polyaddition for the synthesis of polyurethanes out of polyisocyanate and polyol. This was under the umbrella of the German company IG Farben. A major breakthrough in the commercial application of polyurethane did not occur until 1941, when a trace of moisture reacted with isocyanate to produce carbon dioxide. The production of this gas resulted in many small empty areas, or cells, in the product (which was subsequently called “imitation Swiss cheese”). As early as 1943, some military uses were made of the product - but it wasn't until the early 1950's that the product was refined into a new solid medium called "Vulkollan". IG Farben had been liquidated in 1952 and on Bayer AG regaining its independence as a company, they immediately pressed ahead with "Vulkollan". Bayer themselves have never manufactured Vulkollan, and in the early 1950's granted several licences for its production, finally trademarking it in July 1955.

The solid polyurethane elastomer that is "Vulkollan" is very popular, still – due to its substantial mechanic and dynamic material characteristics. The main components of Vulkollan consist of a polyesterpolyol and a diisocyanate. Special cross-linking agents are individually added to obtain the required material characteristics.

OK - so where did DKW start with Vulkollan? Well, the answer lies in another Auto Union invention - the so-called "Schwebeachse" or floating axle, used on DKW's from 1932 (invented by J Rasmussen himself). This design consisted of a rigid axle with two trailing arms, an overhead transverse leaf spring, the transverse leaf spring is connected to the arms of the axle body at the level of the center of gravity of the vehicle; One end of the spring uses an "eye" as a fixed bearing , the other end rests in a sliding block ( as a floating bearing). The center of the spring is attached to the chassis. Here's what it looks like;

This is the sliding end on the right hand side of the car:

In 1955 the traditional DKW Schwebeachse was adapted to use a Vulkollan shoe on its floating or sliding end - on the right hand side of the spring. This is the first documented production automotive use of Vulkollan. From 1955 DKW even made kits available to retrofit earlier cars with Vulkollan shoes, so successful was the innovation. The combination of the Schwebeachse and the Vulkollan shoe, of course, were a very large contributor to the DKW 3=6 family of car's legendary handling.

Here is the early incarnation:

Here is the version incorporating the Vulkollan shoe, released in 1955:

The Schwebeachse at work;

For the sake of completeness - I should add that Auto Union also used Vulkollan in the steering box bushes of its cars, and as with the suspension components, with excellent effect. As for the Schwebeachse, it continued in use on cars such as Wartburg 311 (ending production in 1965)

Just ran across this cool looking '57 DKW 3=6 F93 in RHD on a South African classified site;

As a marque purist, I have to point out the chrome accent on the grille and the 1000S tail lights are not correct for the '57 model year - but as a patina'd original example I think it's really cool - the original roof rack really adds some character. If I did not already have a '57 F93, this one would be on my shopping list. The paint is original, the badging is all there and correct - you just don't find them like this anymore!

This last weekend, I drove our 1959 Auto Union 1000 on a lovely weekend away on a two day event called the Coromandel Gold Rush & Gumdiggers Charity Cruise, in the Coromandel, which involves a roughly 400km trip (for us). We had a great time, especially with our friends, the Farmer's from Whitianga in their NZ-New blue 1958 DKW 3=6 F94;

It was a warm weekend! The Deek's temperature gauge stayed in the upper ranges :-)

While searching on more info on the Sauter-1000SP, I found this excellent thread. Really great read!

In this thread I also saw the Braun-DKW. And I remembered I saw a (colour) picture of this car in a book I have. But didn´t find it...but what I found might be of interest. In the Paul Simsa-book "Dies fuhr alles auf unseren Straßen" (All this drove on our roads), there are two pictures of this special car. And it shows the rear in a different configuration! The rearlights appear to be from a Ford P2, mounted upside-down.

Found the colourpicture, in "Autokampioen: Audi Album" from 1987. Autokampioen was the magazine from the Royal Dutch Touring Club ANWB.

About the car itself: I think only the nose could have been prettier. But I like what I see from the A-pillar to the rear, especially with the first (Ford) rear. Considering it was a selfmade car, I have great respect for mr. Braun.

But who am I...my first cars nickname was "Rasender Kofferraum" and I own some "fake convertibles" based on BMW 3-series.

Then - the DKW Owners Club of South Africa, of whom my Uncle is a very active member, recently had their annual tour to the "Wild Coast" of South Africa and shared some photographs with us - they reported that all the cars made the 4000km journey with no major issues;